


Old Friends and New Faces

by PegasusWrites



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Gender/Sexuality, Canonical Character Death, Death Rituals, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Other, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 16:13:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17625578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PegasusWrites/pseuds/PegasusWrites
Summary: Pel returns to a familiar Risian bar to pay her last respects to Jadzia Dax.





	Old Friends and New Faces

**Author's Note:**

> This work was written as a sequel to [A Chance Encounter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11906025). I didn't mean for it to turn out quite so sad.

Pel sits at the booth nearest the viewscreen. Her back is to the door. The bar hasn’t opened yet - they let her in because she knows the manager. The viewscreen is showing a cityscape from the planet below - Risa. The sun is starting to set and the sky is all pinks and lavenders. Pel has seen similar scenes throughout the station. She guesses that it’s supposed to convince patrons that the bar’s arbitrary opening times are reasonable. Later, the veiwscreens will show them a different scene: stars, the blue curve of the planet below them, the black void of space. Pel sighs. The bar doesn’t open for another hour. She could do with a drink.

Somebody taps Pel on the shoulder: “Hi.”

Pel looks round and sees a short woman in a Starfleet uniform. Pel has never seen this woman before, but Pel knows who she is - the spots give her away. Pel is unimpressed. Jadzia was tall, self-assured, elegant. This girl…

“You must be Ezri,” says Pel. “I’ve…”

Suddenly, she doesn’t know what to say. Ezri slides into the seat across from her. She smiles at Pel. Her smile seems forced.

“This must be strange for you.”

“Not really,” says Pel. “Your message … I understand the situation. Thank you. For explaining.”

Ezri smiles. This time, her smile is genuine. Pel supposes that, under different circumstances, she might be pretty. But she’s no Jadzia. Pel crosses her arms. She didn’t know what she was expecting.

“I asked Qu- … a friend about Ferengi death rituals,” Ezri begins. “On Trill, we do things differently. I wish there was something left of her … that I could bring you.”

“That’s okay,” says Pel. She’s secretly glad that they don’t have to get into the cultural and emotional minefield that is death rituals for females.

“I did bring you this, though.” Ezri places a small, square box on the table between them. Pel recognises the box instantly - the design on the outside is Ferengi. Pel opens the box up and, sure enough, it contains a set of tongo cards. Pel stares at them and a lump forms in her throat.

“Jadzia … well, she thought very highly of you. She would have wanted you to have these,” says Ezri.

“I’ll give you eighteen bars of gold-pressed latinum for the set,” says Pel. Her voice is thick. Tears are beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. Ezri looks bewildered.

“What?”

“Nineteen, if you insist.”

“Pel, this was supposed to be a gift.”

Pel snaps the box shut and slides it back across the table to Ezri. She sniffs.

“ _Sometimes what you get free_ ,” she quotes, “ _costs entirely too much_. Two hundred and eighteenth Rule of Acquisition. I wouldn’t shame Jadzia’s memory by accepting a … a …”

Pel can’t bring herself to say the word. Across the table, Ezri looks distraught. Pel produces a powder blue handkerchief from the front pocket of her indigo suit and dabs at her nose.

“Twenty bars,” she says. “That’s my final offer.”

“Twenty bars,” Ezri agrees, ashen faced.

She gets up from her seat and nods at Pel.

“Well,” she said. “It was nice to meet you.”

She flees. Under other circumstances Pel might have protested - might even have gone after her - but all she can manage to do right now is sit and stare silently at the box of tongo cards.

She will thank Ezri for making the journey, of course, after she has sent Ezri her latinum. Pel picks up the box and tucks it into the inner pocket of her suit jacket.

She doubts very much that she will see Ezri Dax again.


End file.
